University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Monday, January 13
Lafayette
6 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
Texas State
Cajuns Host Texas State On Monday at 6 PM In The Cajundome
1/12/2014 1:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 16
Texas State (5-11, 1-2) at Louisiana (10-5, 1-1)
Date: Monday, Jan. 13, 2014
Time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Site: Cajundome (11,550), Lafayette, Louisiana
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: Sun Belt Network (Tom Dore & Bob Donewald)
(The game will be televised locally on Cox Sports Television)
Series: Louisiana Leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Louisiana 60, Texas State 58 (12/8/59, Lafayette, La.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 53-56 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 278-187 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 401-222 (21st year)
vs. Texas State: 13-9
TEXAS STATE
DANNY KASPAR (North Texas '78)
At TXST: 5-11 (1st year)
Overall: 470-204 (334th year)
vs. Louisiana: 1-1
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns conclude their first home weekend in Sun Belt play when they host Texas State on Monday, Jan. 13 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Cajundome. The game will be televised by the Sun Belt Network with Tom Dore and Bob Donewald providing the commentary. The Ragin' Cajuns used a 90-70 win over UT Arlington on Saturday to improve to 10-5 on the year (and 1-1 in Sun Belt play). Shawn Long registered his 10th 20-point game of the season and set a career-high with seven blocks against the Mavericks. Long (21.5 ppg) teams with Elfrid Payton (20.1) to give Louisiana the only 20-point scoring duo in the country this year. This will be only the second meeting with Sun Belt newcomer Texas State, the first coming a half-century ago when the Cajuns claimed a 60-58 win at home during the 1959-60 season. The Bobcats are 5-11 overall and 1-2 in league play after they won at ULM on Saturday, 61-36.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to an 10-5 start in 2013-14, benefiting from the return of five starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's squad that went 13-20, leading fourth-year head coach Bob Marlin to feel confident that the Cajuns are on a path to national prominence. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (20.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.3 spg) and forward Shawn Long (21.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.1 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long plays mostly at center with Elridge Moore (5.9, 4.4) has returned at small forward after missing five games with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (6.0, 2.7), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, has returned after missing the first 12 games with a foot injury. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.6, 1.5) saw increased playing time with Steven Wronkoski (6.0, 2.8) starting on the other wing. The bench has been a source of a good offensive spark as junior Xavian Rimmer (7.5, 2.3) and sophomore Kasey Shepherd (9.1, 2.5) providing the biggest lift at guard with freshman Hayward Register (2.2) also seeing time. Junior J.J. Davenport (3.1, 3.1), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshmen Vieux Kande (1.4, 0.9), and Luka Kamber (0.6, 1.3) are the primary reserves inside with both Davenport and Kande playing center and Kamber a forward. Marlin is utilizing the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. The Cajuns use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.
LOUISIANA IN THE NCAA STATS: The Cajuns were featured prominently in the latest NCAA stats, which were released on Friday, Jan. 10. Shawn Long was fifth in rebounding (11.0), ninth in double-doubles (8), 10th in field goals made (124), 15th in scoring (21.5), 27th in blocks (3.1) and 41st in field goal percentage (.556). Junior Elfrid Payton was 22nd in assists (6.1), 23rd in scoring (20.1) and 34th in steals (2.3), owning one of seven triple doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 13th in scoring offense (85.3) and 39th in three-point field goal defense (.292).
MARLIN CLAIMS 400TH VICTORY: Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin used a 90-58 win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30 to claim his 400th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Marlin enters the week with a 401-222 record (.645) in 21 seasons as a head coach. He was 123-35 in five seasons at Pensacola Junior College (1990-95), winning the 1993 national championship, and 225-131 in 12 years at Sam Houston State (1998-2010). He reached the 50-win mark at Louisiana in the win over Houston on Dec. 14 and owns a 53-56 record.
MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100-percent both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2013 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns set a program record with a 2.904 grade point average for the team. They backed that up with a 2.840 during the recently completed fall semester, the second-highest average in the 31 years that athletics has tracked grades, with eight of the 15 players posting a 3.0 or better. In seven semesters under head coach Bob Marlin, the Cajuns have recorded seven of the top 10 semesters in program history.
CAJUNS ARE FINALLY HEALTHY: Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin has disputed the fact listed in most preseason stories that Louisiana has benefited from the return of all five starters this year because up until Saturday (Jan. 11), he had not had the good fortune to have all five starters from last year healthy at the same time. The return of Elridge Moore for the UT Arlington contest gave Marlin a complete roster of 15 healthy players for the first time all season. Bryant Mbamalu, who started 25 games last year, missed the first 12 games of the year with a foot injury and Moore had been sidelined with an ankle sprain since mid-December.
STREAKING FROM THE LINE: The Cajuns have shown improvement from the foul line over the last three games, going 71-for-96 (.740) to improve to .683 for the year (284-416). Kasey Shepherd leads the team, making 28-of-30 attempts to shoot .933 from the stripe. He opened the year with 16 straight makes before missing once each in back-to-back games against Central Methodist (Dec. 30) and at ULM (Jan. 4). Xavian Rimmer is shooting .833 from the line (25-30), owning a current streak of 17 straight makes going back to the Louisiana Tech game (Dec. 4). Center J.J. Davenport opened the year by making just one of his first four attempts, but has bounced back to make 14 straight. Davenport is shooting .833 (15-18) for the year.
. . . AND PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 156 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the week ranked third nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 201 attempts through Saturday while Delaware's Jarvis Threatt, who plays Sunday against Rider, is third with 154. Payton has shot 498 career free throws, including 133 as a freshman in 2011-12 and 209 in 2012-13. He has attempted eight or more free throws in a game 11 times this season.
20-POINT PARTNERS: Midway through the 2013-14 season, the Cajuns duo of Shawn Long (21.5 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (20.1 ppg) have emerged as the only duo in the country to both average 20 points per game. There are 35 players averaging 20 points or more this year with Long ranking 15th and Payton 24th. Long leads the team with ten 20-point efforts this year (19 in his career) with Payton owning eight 20-point games (18 career). Payton however has the upper hand by producing three 30-point games this year while Long has one.
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR PAYTON: After flirting with it a half-dozen times over the last 40 games, junior Elfrid Payton recorded the first triple-doule of his career when he set career highs for scoring (34), rebounds (11) and assists (11) at ULM on Jan. 4. It was the sixth triple-double in school history and one of seven in the nation this year. Michael Southall recorded the last triple-double by a Cajun when he had one at North Texas in 2005-06. Here are a list of triple-doubles in Cajuns basketball history (all are points-rebounds-assists except where noted with *):
Elfrid Payton at ULM (Jan. 4, 2014) (34 pts, 11 reb, 11 asst.)
Michael Southall @ North Texas (Jan. 5, 2006) (19 pts, 12 reb, 11 blocks)
Aaron Mitchell vs. Jackson State (Dec. 1, 1989) (21-10-10)
Randal Smith vs. Rider (Jan. 8, 1987) (22-11-11)
George Almones vs. Long Island (Jan. 28, 1985) (12-16-11)
George Almones vs. ULM (Feb. 14, 1983) (14-10-12)
. . . AND LONG FLIRTS WITH GETTING ONE OF HIS OWN: One game after Elfrid Payton recorded a triple-double, his running mate, Shawn Long, flirted with one of his own. Against UT Arlington on Saturday, Long totalled 22 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, playing just 28 minutes. Long has 26 career double-doubles, but that was the first time he came that close to registering the third part of the feat.
RIMMER COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Junior Xavian Rimmer has only been with the Cajuns for 15 games, but he is quickly gaining a reputation for making last-second shot. At Jackson State on Dec. 19, he made a three-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game at 67-67. On Saturday at ULM, he was fouled with 2.3 seconds left and made all three free throws to tie the game at 74-74 and force overtime.
SHEPHERD SPARKS THE CAJUNS: The emergence of Kasey Shepherd has provided the Cajuns with a scoring spark off the bench this season. Shepherd, who averaged 3.4 points in 10.9 minutes of action last year, started the year slowly, averaging just 2.7 points over the first six games. He has now settled into the offense, averaging 13.9 points over the last nine games, including 17 or more points five times. He leads the Sun Belt shooting .605 from three-point (23-38) while also shooting .544 from the field (43-79) and .933 from the line (28-30). He earned the LSWA Player of the Week award on Dec. 9 after scoring 22 points at Louisiana Tech and 18 at Louisville.
SHEPHERD & RIMMER ARE A ONE-TWO PUNCH: The graduation of Alan-Michael Thompson and the injury to Bryant Mbamalu left the Cajuns without their two most effective three-point shooters at the start of the season. Their loss has been offset by the addition of Xavian Rimmer and the maturation of Kasey Shepherd. Shepherd leads the Sun Belt shooting .605 from three-point (23-38) while Rimmer is fourth at .490 (25-51). As a team, the Cajuns rank third in the Sun Belt, making 113 of their 310 three-point attempts (.365). Last year, Louisiana shot .341 from three-point (226-663).
MBAMALU BACK: After missing the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury suffered in September, senior Bryant Mbamalu returned to the lineup on Dec. 30 and has played in the last three games. He scored four points with two rebounds and two assists in the win over Central Methodist on Monday (Dec. 30) and came back to score five points with two boards at ULM. He had his best game on Saturday, making all three three-point attempts to finish with nine points in 16 minutes. As a junior in 2012-13, Mbamalu started all but seven games as a wing guard, averaging 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 49 treys. He scored in double figures 21 times, including five 20-point games.
PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 12-point effort against UT Arlington on Saturday (Jan. 4) has moved Elfrid Payton into a 35th place tie with Marcus Stokes (1988-92) with 1,055 career points. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Monday (Jan. 4). Payton, who is averaging 20.7 points, has three career 30-point games and seventeen 20-point efforts.
LONG PASSES 100 BLOCK MARK: A six blocked shots effort at ULM on Jan. 4 allowed sophomore Shawn Long to become just the sixth player in program history to block 100 shots in a career. Long's subsequent seven blocks on Saturday vs. UT Arlington moved him past Marvin Lancaster (110 blocks from 1987-89) and into fifth place on the career blocked shots chart with 112 blocks. Long had 65 blocks as a freshman, the sixth-highest single season total in school history, and has started his sophomore campaign with 47 blocks in the first 15 games, ranking him 10th on the single season list.
PLAYING OVERTIME: The Jan. 4 ULM game marked the second time in five games that the Cajuns played to overtime this season. The Cajuns previously toppled Houston in OT on Dec. 14 and are now 7-5 in overtime in the four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The ULM game was the first double overtime game since Louisiana dropped double overtime decision at Texas Southern (74-71) and vs. South Alabama (91-89) last year.
20-POINT GAMES: The versatility of the Louisiana lineup this season is evident by the four Cajuns who have combined to score 20 or more points in a game 21 times in the first 15 games this season. Shawn Long (10) and Elfrid Payton (8) lead the way, including four contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (2) and Kasey Shepherd (1) have come off the bench to reach the mark. Last year, Cajuns players had 25, 20-point games, with all but one coming from a starter. Payton and Long had nine each with Bryant Mbamalu adding five and Alan-Michael Thompson getting two.
. . . AND 30-POINT EFFORTS: When Elfrid Payton set a career-high with 34 points at ULM, it marked the fourth time this season that Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. Elfrid Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14) and a 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, Payton scored 32 points against Western Kentucky for the only 30-point game by a Cajun.
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 37 baskets off his 62 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.9 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 4.1 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (21.5).
PAYTON NEARS ASSIST TOP 10: With 91 assists in 15 games this year, Elfrid Payton has moved into 12th place on the Louisiana career assist list. Payton has 369 assists, and needs two assists to catch 11th place Michael Allen (371 assists from 1992-94) and 19 to pass 10th place Andrew Toney (387 from 1977-80).
LONG LIKES TO DOUBLE UP: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in eight of the first 15 games to rank fourth nationally. Long has 26 double-doubles in 48 career games. He enters the week leading the SBC in blocked shots (3.1), rebounding (11.0) and defensive rebounding (6.9), ranked second in scoring (21.5), third in offensive rebounds (4.0) and fourth in field goal percentage (.556).
LONG RECORDS QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLES: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long has started the year with eight double-doubles in the first 14 games, achieving two before halftime. He scored 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College. He needed just 18:07 to get his first double-double of the year, grabbing his 10th rebound of the night (to go with 14 points at the time) as part of an 18-point, 11-rebound effort in the first half. Against Northwestern State on Nov. 26, Long had 16 points and 12 rebounds at halftime, accomplishing the double-double with 2:51 to play. He finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns conclude the stretch that has them playing four games in eight days by playing road contests at South Alabama on Thursday (Jan. 16) at 7:05 p.m. and at Troy on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 7:30 p.m.
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Game 16
Texas State (5-11, 1-2) at Louisiana (10-5, 1-1)
Date: Monday, Jan. 13, 2014
Time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Site: Cajundome (11,550), Lafayette, Louisiana
Radio: KPEL (1420 AM) & KHXT (107.9 FM) (Jay Walker)
TV: Sun Belt Network (Tom Dore & Bob Donewald)
(The game will be televised locally on Cox Sports Television)
Series: Louisiana Leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Louisiana 60, Texas State 58 (12/8/59, Lafayette, La.)
THE COACHES:
LOUISIANA
BOB MARLIN (Mississippi State '81)
At Louisiana: 53-56 (4th year)
4-Year Overall: 278-187 (16th year)
All Collegiate: 401-222 (21st year)
vs. Texas State: 13-9
TEXAS STATE
DANNY KASPAR (North Texas '78)
At TXST: 5-11 (1st year)
Overall: 470-204 (334th year)
vs. Louisiana: 1-1
SETTING THE SCENE: The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns conclude their first home weekend in Sun Belt play when they host Texas State on Monday, Jan. 13 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Cajundome. The game will be televised by the Sun Belt Network with Tom Dore and Bob Donewald providing the commentary. The Ragin' Cajuns used a 90-70 win over UT Arlington on Saturday to improve to 10-5 on the year (and 1-1 in Sun Belt play). Shawn Long registered his 10th 20-point game of the season and set a career-high with seven blocks against the Mavericks. Long (21.5 ppg) teams with Elfrid Payton (20.1) to give Louisiana the only 20-point scoring duo in the country this year. This will be only the second meeting with Sun Belt newcomer Texas State, the first coming a half-century ago when the Cajuns claimed a 60-58 win at home during the 1959-60 season. The Bobcats are 5-11 overall and 1-2 in league play after they won at ULM on Saturday, 61-36.
PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: Louisiana is off to an 10-5 start in 2013-14, benefiting from the return of five starters and a total of 10 lettermen from last year's squad that went 13-20, leading fourth-year head coach Bob Marlin to feel confident that the Cajuns are on a path to national prominence. The team is centered around the duo of point guard Elfrid Payton (20.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.3 spg) and forward Shawn Long (21.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.1 bpg), both of whom were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team this year. Long plays mostly at center with Elridge Moore (5.9, 4.4) has returned at small forward after missing five games with an ankle injury. Bryant Mbamalu (6.0, 2.7), who started 26 games as a wing guard last season, has returned after missing the first 12 games with a foot injury. With Mbamalu out, junior Kevin Brown (6.6, 1.5) saw increased playing time with Steven Wronkoski (6.0, 2.8) starting on the other wing. The bench has been a source of a good offensive spark as junior Xavian Rimmer (7.5, 2.3) and sophomore Kasey Shepherd (9.1, 2.5) providing the biggest lift at guard with freshman Hayward Register (2.2) also seeing time. Junior J.J. Davenport (3.1, 3.1), who played the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, and freshmen Vieux Kande (1.4, 0.9), and Luka Kamber (0.6, 1.3) are the primary reserves inside with both Davenport and Kande playing center and Kamber a forward. Marlin is utilizing the depth and quickness by forcing an up-tempo game at both ends of the court by applying more defensive pressure. The Cajuns use their quickness and outside shooting ability to create a balanced offense, forcing opponents to cover the entire court.
LOUISIANA IN THE NCAA STATS: The Cajuns were featured prominently in the latest NCAA stats, which were released on Friday, Jan. 10. Shawn Long was fifth in rebounding (11.0), ninth in double-doubles (8), 10th in field goals made (124), 15th in scoring (21.5), 27th in blocks (3.1) and 41st in field goal percentage (.556). Junior Elfrid Payton was 22nd in assists (6.1), 23rd in scoring (20.1) and 34th in steals (2.3), owning one of seven triple doubles in the nation this year. As a team, the Cajuns were 13th in scoring offense (85.3) and 39th in three-point field goal defense (.292).
MARLIN CLAIMS 400TH VICTORY: Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin used a 90-58 win over Central Methodist on Dec. 30 to claim his 400th as a head coach at the collegiate level. Marlin enters the week with a 401-222 record (.645) in 21 seasons as a head coach. He was 123-35 in five seasons at Pensacola Junior College (1990-95), winning the 1993 national championship, and 225-131 in 12 years at Sam Houston State (1998-2010). He reached the 50-win mark at Louisiana in the win over Houston on Dec. 14 and owns a 53-56 record.
MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100-percent both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2013 semester, the Ragin' Cajuns set a program record with a 2.904 grade point average for the team. They backed that up with a 2.840 during the recently completed fall semester, the second-highest average in the 31 years that athletics has tracked grades, with eight of the 15 players posting a 3.0 or better. In seven semesters under head coach Bob Marlin, the Cajuns have recorded seven of the top 10 semesters in program history.
CAJUNS ARE FINALLY HEALTHY: Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin has disputed the fact listed in most preseason stories that Louisiana has benefited from the return of all five starters this year because up until Saturday (Jan. 11), he had not had the good fortune to have all five starters from last year healthy at the same time. The return of Elridge Moore for the UT Arlington contest gave Marlin a complete roster of 15 healthy players for the first time all season. Bryant Mbamalu, who started 25 games last year, missed the first 12 games of the year with a foot injury and Moore had been sidelined with an ankle sprain since mid-December.
STREAKING FROM THE LINE: The Cajuns have shown improvement from the foul line over the last three games, going 71-for-96 (.740) to improve to .683 for the year (284-416). Kasey Shepherd leads the team, making 28-of-30 attempts to shoot .933 from the stripe. He opened the year with 16 straight makes before missing once each in back-to-back games against Central Methodist (Dec. 30) and at ULM (Jan. 4). Xavian Rimmer is shooting .833 from the line (25-30), owning a current streak of 17 straight makes going back to the Louisiana Tech game (Dec. 4). Center J.J. Davenport opened the year by making just one of his first four attempts, but has bounced back to make 14 straight. Davenport is shooting .833 (15-18) for the year.
. . . AND PAYTON HAS SPENT THE SEASON AT THE LINE: With 156 free throw attempts this year, Elfrid Payton enters the week ranked third nationally in free throw attempts. Niagara's Antoine Mason leads the country with 201 attempts through Saturday while Delaware's Jarvis Threatt, who plays Sunday against Rider, is third with 154. Payton has shot 498 career free throws, including 133 as a freshman in 2011-12 and 209 in 2012-13. He has attempted eight or more free throws in a game 11 times this season.
20-POINT PARTNERS: Midway through the 2013-14 season, the Cajuns duo of Shawn Long (21.5 ppg) and Elfrid Payton (20.1 ppg) have emerged as the only duo in the country to both average 20 points per game. There are 35 players averaging 20 points or more this year with Long ranking 15th and Payton 24th. Long leads the team with ten 20-point efforts this year (19 in his career) with Payton owning eight 20-point games (18 career). Payton however has the upper hand by producing three 30-point games this year while Long has one.
A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR PAYTON: After flirting with it a half-dozen times over the last 40 games, junior Elfrid Payton recorded the first triple-doule of his career when he set career highs for scoring (34), rebounds (11) and assists (11) at ULM on Jan. 4. It was the sixth triple-double in school history and one of seven in the nation this year. Michael Southall recorded the last triple-double by a Cajun when he had one at North Texas in 2005-06. Here are a list of triple-doubles in Cajuns basketball history (all are points-rebounds-assists except where noted with *):
Elfrid Payton at ULM (Jan. 4, 2014) (34 pts, 11 reb, 11 asst.)
Michael Southall @ North Texas (Jan. 5, 2006) (19 pts, 12 reb, 11 blocks)
Aaron Mitchell vs. Jackson State (Dec. 1, 1989) (21-10-10)
Randal Smith vs. Rider (Jan. 8, 1987) (22-11-11)
George Almones vs. Long Island (Jan. 28, 1985) (12-16-11)
George Almones vs. ULM (Feb. 14, 1983) (14-10-12)
. . . AND LONG FLIRTS WITH GETTING ONE OF HIS OWN: One game after Elfrid Payton recorded a triple-double, his running mate, Shawn Long, flirted with one of his own. Against UT Arlington on Saturday, Long totalled 22 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, playing just 28 minutes. Long has 26 career double-doubles, but that was the first time he came that close to registering the third part of the feat.
RIMMER COMES THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Junior Xavian Rimmer has only been with the Cajuns for 15 games, but he is quickly gaining a reputation for making last-second shot. At Jackson State on Dec. 19, he made a three-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game at 67-67. On Saturday at ULM, he was fouled with 2.3 seconds left and made all three free throws to tie the game at 74-74 and force overtime.
SHEPHERD SPARKS THE CAJUNS: The emergence of Kasey Shepherd has provided the Cajuns with a scoring spark off the bench this season. Shepherd, who averaged 3.4 points in 10.9 minutes of action last year, started the year slowly, averaging just 2.7 points over the first six games. He has now settled into the offense, averaging 13.9 points over the last nine games, including 17 or more points five times. He leads the Sun Belt shooting .605 from three-point (23-38) while also shooting .544 from the field (43-79) and .933 from the line (28-30). He earned the LSWA Player of the Week award on Dec. 9 after scoring 22 points at Louisiana Tech and 18 at Louisville.
SHEPHERD & RIMMER ARE A ONE-TWO PUNCH: The graduation of Alan-Michael Thompson and the injury to Bryant Mbamalu left the Cajuns without their two most effective three-point shooters at the start of the season. Their loss has been offset by the addition of Xavian Rimmer and the maturation of Kasey Shepherd. Shepherd leads the Sun Belt shooting .605 from three-point (23-38) while Rimmer is fourth at .490 (25-51). As a team, the Cajuns rank third in the Sun Belt, making 113 of their 310 three-point attempts (.365). Last year, Louisiana shot .341 from three-point (226-663).
MBAMALU BACK: After missing the first 12 games of the season with a foot injury suffered in September, senior Bryant Mbamalu returned to the lineup on Dec. 30 and has played in the last three games. He scored four points with two rebounds and two assists in the win over Central Methodist on Monday (Dec. 30) and came back to score five points with two boards at ULM. He had his best game on Saturday, making all three three-point attempts to finish with nine points in 16 minutes. As a junior in 2012-13, Mbamalu started all but seven games as a wing guard, averaging 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game, finishing second on the team with 49 treys. He scored in double figures 21 times, including five 20-point games.
PAYTON MOVES UP SCORING CHART: A 12-point effort against UT Arlington on Saturday (Jan. 4) has moved Elfrid Payton into a 35th place tie with Marcus Stokes (1988-92) with 1,055 career points. Payton became the 40th Cajun to score 1,000 career points in the win over Central Methodist on Monday (Jan. 4). Payton, who is averaging 20.7 points, has three career 30-point games and seventeen 20-point efforts.
LONG PASSES 100 BLOCK MARK: A six blocked shots effort at ULM on Jan. 4 allowed sophomore Shawn Long to become just the sixth player in program history to block 100 shots in a career. Long's subsequent seven blocks on Saturday vs. UT Arlington moved him past Marvin Lancaster (110 blocks from 1987-89) and into fifth place on the career blocked shots chart with 112 blocks. Long had 65 blocks as a freshman, the sixth-highest single season total in school history, and has started his sophomore campaign with 47 blocks in the first 15 games, ranking him 10th on the single season list.
PLAYING OVERTIME: The Jan. 4 ULM game marked the second time in five games that the Cajuns played to overtime this season. The Cajuns previously toppled Houston in OT on Dec. 14 and are now 7-5 in overtime in the four seasons under head coach Bob Marlin. The ULM game was the first double overtime game since Louisiana dropped double overtime decision at Texas Southern (74-71) and vs. South Alabama (91-89) last year.
20-POINT GAMES: The versatility of the Louisiana lineup this season is evident by the four Cajuns who have combined to score 20 or more points in a game 21 times in the first 15 games this season. Shawn Long (10) and Elfrid Payton (8) lead the way, including four contests in which they both scored 20 points. Xavian Rimmer (2) and Kasey Shepherd (1) have come off the bench to reach the mark. Last year, Cajuns players had 25, 20-point games, with all but one coming from a starter. Payton and Long had nine each with Bryant Mbamalu adding five and Alan-Michael Thompson getting two.
. . . AND 30-POINT EFFORTS: When Elfrid Payton set a career-high with 34 points at ULM, it marked the fourth time this season that Ragin' Cajuns player scored 30 or more points in a game. Elfrid Payton owns three of the efforts, scoring 31 points against Houston (Dec. 14) and a 32 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 23) while Shawn Long has the other, a 30-point effort vs. Centenary. Last year, Payton scored 32 points against Western Kentucky for the only 30-point game by a Cajun.
SCORING OFF THE GLASS: Shawn Long has made the most of his rebounding opportunities this year, scoring 37 baskets off his 62 offensive rebounds this season for an average of 4.9 points a game. Long ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 4.1 offensive rebounds a game and second in scoring (21.5).
PAYTON NEARS ASSIST TOP 10: With 91 assists in 15 games this year, Elfrid Payton has moved into 12th place on the Louisiana career assist list. Payton has 369 assists, and needs two assists to catch 11th place Michael Allen (371 assists from 1992-94) and 19 to pass 10th place Andrew Toney (387 from 1977-80).
LONG LIKES TO DOUBLE UP: Sophomore Shawn Long picked right up where he left off last spring, registering double-doubles in eight of the first 15 games to rank fourth nationally. Long has 26 double-doubles in 48 career games. He enters the week leading the SBC in blocked shots (3.1), rebounding (11.0) and defensive rebounding (6.9), ranked second in scoring (21.5), third in offensive rebounds (4.0) and fourth in field goal percentage (.556).
LONG RECORDS QUICK DOUBLE-DOUBLES: After ranking sixth nationally last year with 18 double-doubles, sophomore Shawn Long has started the year with eight double-doubles in the first 14 games, achieving two before halftime. He scored 23 points with 14 rebounds in the season-opening win over Louisiana College. He needed just 18:07 to get his first double-double of the year, grabbing his 10th rebound of the night (to go with 14 points at the time) as part of an 18-point, 11-rebound effort in the first half. Against Northwestern State on Nov. 26, Long had 16 points and 12 rebounds at halftime, accomplishing the double-double with 2:51 to play. He finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns conclude the stretch that has them playing four games in eight days by playing road contests at South Alabama on Thursday (Jan. 16) at 7:05 p.m. and at Troy on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 7:30 p.m.
Quannas White Media Availability (Dec 1, 2025)
Monday, December 01
Quannas White Media Availability (Nov 28, 2025)
Saturday, November 29
Quannas White Media Availability (Nov 11, 2025)
Wednesday, November 12
De'Vion Lavergne and Milan Mejia Media Availability (Nov 11, 2025)
Wednesday, November 12
